Originally Posted by
Sixty Fiver
I converted my 1962 Peugeot last spring... when I found the bike it was destined for the crusher but I saw a frame that would be most suitable for a fixed gear conversion due to the high bb clearance.
I replaced the cottered axle and cranks with a Sugino #5 tapered axle which allowed me to use an SR crank (Peugeot branded) and Sugino chain ring which is very true. This dropped a full pound of weight off the bike and even with 170's I have never come close to striking a pedal... there's 11.5 inches of clearance at the bb with the 700/25's I am running.
I started with some NOS 27's I had but swapped those for some nice 700c Weinmann wheels with Normandy high flange hubs and did a ghetto conversion on the rear hub / cog.
The only component that I have not been able to replace (yet) has been the steel seatpost... the stem, bars, and brake have all been replaced with lighter components and I replaced the Mafac brakes with a single vintage Dia-Compe centre pull as this is a much stiffer and more powerful brake.
The end result is that I have a very solid 22 pound fixed gear that carried me more than 5000 trouble free km last year and I expect that the next 5000 km will be just as enjoyable.
Can you also convert green text to black?